1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to machines for collating individual sheets of paper from a plurality of stacks to form packets which are inserted into envelopes for mailing, and more particularly to a cutter device for use in combination with said collating machines for trimming or removing the folded edge or spine of a plurality of sheet materials provided in booklet form in one or more supply stations, which sheets are collated with the individual sheets from other supply stations, and more particularly still to a cutter device that be positioned for use with any supply station in a row of such stations, and whereby only those sheets needing to be cut or trimmed are passed through the cutter device.
2. Description of Related Art
Numerous mechanical devices for automating the process of stuffing or inserting sheet materials such as mail, flyers and advertising sheets into envelopes are known and available in the prior art. Where a plurality of sheets is to be inserted into a single envelope, stacks of each of the individual sheets are normally placed in pockets at picking or supply stations spaced apart along a support railing including a continuous conveyor belt or track. Pairs of upstanding separator bars or fingers are provided on the track, dividing the track into a plurality of sheet material receiving sections each for collecting piles of the individual sheets from each supply stations to be enveloped, enabling the coordinated sheet collection and collating process to be continuous. A first sheet from the stack of such first sheets in the first supply station is removed from the stack by a grasping mechanism which places the sheet in a track receiving section situated directly in front of the first supply station. A pair of guide angles is provided on either side of the track to further support the sheets on the track. The sorting machine is then operated to move the track so the first sheet is pushed or moved from a position adjacent the first supply station to a position adjacent a second supply station, where a sheet from the second supply station is placed on top of the first sheet by a grasping mechanism. At the same time, another sheet from the first station is placed on the track in the receiving section adjacent the initial pile. This process continues until sheets from each station or pocket have been placed on top of the pile of previously dispensed materials, forming the stack of sheet material to be enveloped. In parallel with the movement of sheet material along the track, typically there is another station filled with envelopes, whereby an envelope is pulled from the envelope station and moved parallel to the movement of each stack or pile of sheet material. The flap of the envelope is opened and is moved to an insert station, where the stack of sheet material is pushed into the envelope. The envelope then is moved from the insert station, and the envelope flap is sealed and closed.
A shortcoming of such mechanical mailing machines is that there are physical limitations, at least in practical terms, in the number of individual supply stations that can be arranged side by side in a row along the length of a conveyor system, thus limiting the number of individual sheets that can be added to a packet. One solution is to place folded packets containing a plurality of different advertising sheets joined along a common margin or seem in one or more of the supply stations. However, prior to the packets being inserted into an envelope, the folded edges or spines of the packets are preferably removed by cutting or trimming, separating the folded material into individual sheets. In addition, to prevent damage to the individual sheets picked at the other stations, only the folded packets should be passed through the cutting device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,033,727 issued to Szewczyk et al. addresses this problem by providing a cutter device for use with an inserter machine which is designed to cut or trim the backbone of such packets to disassemble the packets into individual sheets. However, a significant shortcoming of the Szewczyk et al. cutter device is that it can only be used with supply stations which are positioned upstream from supply stations containing individual sheets, in order to prevent the individual sheets from also being passed through the cutter device or chopper and becoming stuck or damaged. Thus, in the Szewczyk et al. cutter device can only be used with the first supply station in a line, and while the ability to load a supply station with folded packets enables a greater number of advertising sheets to be collated for insertion into an envelope, the operator's ability to position the supply station containing folded packets along the conveyor means is limited. Such prior art enveloping process while comprising an improvement in the art is nevertheless still inflexible, and the operator's ability to arranged the stacked sheets in a desired order, or to change the order of on the fly, remains limited. In today's fast paced society, where advertising campaigns are continually implemented and revised, and orders are placed up to the last minute, maximum flexibility in processing such orders is critical. For example, a certain advertiser might be willing to pay an increased fee for their advertisement to be positioned as the first sheet in the stack of inserts. However, if the folded packets have already been formed, in prior art collating arrangements it would not be possible to change the order since the folded packets must be in the first supply station.
While the prior art mailing machines and associated cutter devices available in the prior art are useful for their own particular purposes, the present inventors have recognized the need for a cutter device having more flexible use parameters, whereby the cutter device can be used to cut off the folded edge or spine of folded packets of sheet material to separate the folded packets into individual sheets with any supply or picking station situated in a row of such stations coordinated with a mailing machine conveyor track, without cutting any individual sheets dispensed from supply stations upstream from said cutter device. In such invention, only the folded packets are passed through the cutter device, while individual sheets or previously cut packets bypass such cutter. Thus, using the present inventors cutting device and system, supply stations containing folded packets having a bound edge can be intermixed with supply stations containing individual sheets, without having to worry that the individual sheets will be damaged by the cutter. In addition, the inventors have surprisingly conceived of a unique cutting wheel or blade design that minimizes tearing of the packets during such high speed cutting processes.